Santa Fe hasn't had much luck against Buchholz recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Santa Fe Raiders will challenge the Buchholz Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Santa Fe will roll into the game after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs on Tuesday, then bounced right back against West Port on Thursday. Everything went Santa Fe's way against West Port as Santa Fe made off with a 12-4 victory. The Raiders' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Zach Marriott looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits.
On the hitting side, Santa Fe got a massive performance out of Jackson McDavid, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. That triple marked the first that McDavid's hit this season. Dylan Doria was another key player, going 1-for-3 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Santa Fe always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .550. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.
Meanwhile, Buchholz won against Columbia on Friday with eight runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Buchholz had just enough and edged out Suwannee 8-6. The Bobcats' win was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Aidan Kastensmidt made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over four innings pitched. Kastensmidt was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with one home run and three RBI.
In other pitching news, Cohen Lafler looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Cedaris Smith, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. He has been hot recently, having also posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played.
Buchholz's victory was their tenth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.4 runs over those games. As for Santa Fe, their record is now 2-3.
Santa Fe came out on top in a nail-biter against Buchholz in their previous matchup back in February of 2021, sneaking past 3-1. Will Santa Fe repeat their success, or does Buchholz have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
